Metamorphosis
by Sukkari
Summary: Kaname Madoka has always lived a peaceful life as an average 14 year old teenager. One day, Madoka receives a device known as the Zecter that allows one to transform into an armored rider to fight Witches. She will soon learn that there is more than just Witches lurking in the darkness, and that she is also much more than just average.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This story has been rewritten as of 24/6/2017. After a year of writing and rewriting countless variations of this story, I've finally come up with something decent enough to me.

Chapter 1 and 2 are mostly similar with a few changes, but Chapter 3 is the chapter with the most changes. Then again I haven't updated this story since forever, so you guys probably forgot what the story is all about ;p No harm reading the whole thing again.

* * *

Kaname Madoka awoke to an apocalypse.

Smoke permeated the crimson sky as meteorites bombarded skyscrapers and shophouses. Glittering fairies flew past mountains of rubble. Pale, deformed zombies hovered past street lamps still standing strong despite the chaos and destruction around it.

Horrified people frozen in time exploded into a gruesome mess as the zombies hovered past them. The reverberating laughter in the background seemed to be laughing at how helpless those people were.

Madoka closed her eyes, and clasped her trembling hands in a prayer. "Th-That's too much... Someone... please save them!"

She wanted to escape this nightmare, but there was nothing she could do. Her legs trembled so hard that she was sure to fall if she tried to move a single step forward.

At the epicenter of the apocalypse was a shadowy girl with the lower part of its body replaced by a mountain-sized floating skirt made of intertwining black lines.

Armored riders wielding swords and guns charged forth against the monstrous shadow, but she swatted them aside like annoying flies.

Tremors from a distorted, sweet feminine voice shook the air. "Why are you stopping me? Soon, no one will need to suffer in this world. Isn't that a good thing?"

A tri-colored rider picked itself up from the rubble. It was green and black on the left and right respectively with white in the middle. "Like hell we'd let you rule over humanity!"

Another red armored rider with a black tyre over his left shoulder slammed his sword down, "There's no difference between your Paradise and imprisoning humanity in your personal cage. It's our duty as Kamen Riders to stop you!"

They say that the Kamen Riders are humanity's symbol of hope. That they will keep on fighting evil to protect the freedom of humanity.

Madoka watched the armored riders fall one by one as the shadowy girl crushed them like a child who destroys her toy figurines because it was more fun that way.

The only armored riders still barely alive were the tri-colored rider and the red rider with a black tyre over its left shoulder.

Was this the end of humanity? Was this the moment when the Kamen Rider finally lost a battle against the monster?

Madoka wiped her tears. No matter how much she wanted to leap into the battle and save the Kamen Riders and everyone else, she was just an ordinary girl studying in Mitakihara Middle School as a second year student. All of the sadness and pain around her will never be erased by that kind of girl, and that in turn filled her heart with sadness and pain.

A new hero arrived.

But it was a hero she never imagined could appear.

The hero had the same pink hair as her, tied into short twintails. However, her outfit was a pink frilly dress with white sleeves just like a magical girl. Compared to that monster, she was barely more than a speck of dust.

"I'm... the hero?!"

This must be a dream. A girl like her could never be the hero.

Scores of glittering purple dolls and fairies emerging from the intertwining black lines of the monster's skirt flew towards 'Madoka'.

The magical girl hero 'Madoka' summoned a rose shaped bow with a confident look on her face and leaped towards the monster.

* * *

Madoka awoke to a buzzing alarm in her bedroom.

"So it was all just a bad dream..."

People torn apart by demons. Buildings brought to ruins by giggling fairies. At the center of it all was a deformed shadowy girl wearing a gigantic black skirt destroying heroic Kamen Riders who were trying to defeat her.

And when all hope was lost, the hero who arrived to save the day was a magical girl copy of herself?

Madoka couldn't forget the look on her magical girl self. She had the exact same face as her, but how could that same face radiate such overwhelming confidence? Confidence was something that felt like an impossible dream.

Madoka sighed. Given the chance, she would love to become a magical girl and save people from evil like the Madoka inside that dream, but magical girls belonged to the animated shows of her childhood, and dreams were dreams for a reason.

She pulled away the curtains to be greeted with a scenic view of lush trees and a pond near the horizon.

Madoka couldn't see the city from her house, but it must be as vibrant and lively as the city in her dream after being saved by her heroic self.

She waved at her father below watering the tomato plants in his garden, "Good morning, papa!"

He was Kaname Tomohisa, a bespectacled man with a lanky build.

"Good morning, Madoka. If you don't mind, could you check on your mother to see if she's awake?"

"Got it."

Madoka went over to her mother's room and slammed open the door to see her three year old brother Tatsuya standing on the bed, about to perform his best imitation of a signature finish by the Kamen Riders that he has been obsessed with recently.

She chuckled. That won't be enough to wake Mama up.

The pink-haired girl drew the curtains, illuminating the room with bright sunlight, before she pulled the blanket away from her mother.

Like a vampire, her mother let out a loud scream as she jumped out of the bed. After a few seconds of standing in a daze, she slowly turned to face Madoka and Tatsuya.

"Good morning."

In the bathroom beside her mother already brushing her teeth, Madoka squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush and started brushing as well.

Her mother gurgled water before spitting everything out at the white sink. "How's everything so far?"

"Oh, Hitomi got a love letter again. This makes two for the month already."

"Pfft. Guys that don't have the guts to confess in person are pretty worthless. She shouldn't waste her time on those kind of guys."

By the time Madoka finished brushing, her mother was almost done with her makeup. She applied some final touches on her face with a powder puff before striking a confident pose at the mirror.

"Perfect."

Sometimes Madoka wondered if she was really the daughter of this incredible woman named Kaname Junko.

Mama was always so fast, and so efficient. During breakfast, she could juggle between taking care of Tatsuya, reading the newspaper effortlessly, and finishing her food and cup of coffee.

On the other hand, Madoka was sure she would end up in a complete mess if she attempted the exact same feat as her.

"Umm... which ribbon should I pick?"

The red one on her right, or the yellow on her left?

"How about red?" Junko said.

Madoka frowned. "Don't you think it might be too flashy?"

"That's the point."

Junko put a finger to her chin, admiring how beautiful her daughter looked with those red ribbons on. "Now all your secret admirers won't be able to resist you. I'm sure you'll get more love letters than Hitomi

Madoka chuckled, "Like I'd have any secret admirers."

Secret admirer? There was nothing admirable about a girl like her. She was slow, and didn't have any particular talents like playing the violin really well for example.

"Confidence, Madoka. You have to believe in yourself. Even if you think something may seem impossible, as long as you have confidence and believe in yourself, you will realize that it wasn't as impossible as you thought it would be. That's the secret in becoming a pretty girl with tons of admirers."

If only being confident was that easy... Then again, nothing ever came across as easy for her.

* * *

If it wasn't for her notebook and pen, Madoka would have dozed off in class like her blue-haired friend Miki Sayaka two seats to the left from her.

Japanese literature classes had this strange power to put people into sleep. Or maybe it was the teacher who kept droning on and on and on and on…

Madoka took a deep breath and clenched her fists to get blood flowing into her brain. She almost fell under the curse that claimed about a quarter of the class already.

She began drawing an outline of the most perfect magical girl she could think of. An elegant, but simple white dress. Twintails by the sides with long flowing pink hair.

If she were to ever become a magical girl, that would definitely be her desired final form. The magical girl in her dream was only her base form.

Madoka shook her head. She must've watched too much Kamen Rider with Tatsuya. In Kamen Rider, the heroes will always receive an upgrade halfway throughout the show to defeat a powerful monster. That was usually their final form.

If magical girls were for girls, then Kamen Rider would be the magical girl equivalent for guys.

Madoka finished her outline, and let out a sigh before sketching another outline of her mini adventure comic series of Kaname Madoka saving Mitakihara City from the monster of the week terrorizing the city with her magical girl powers.

How nice it would be if she could be useful to people like those magical girls and Kamen Riders... but a girl like her being a hero?

She was better off being a damsel in distress. This was the only role suitable for a girl like her.

* * *

Madoka was never the best in sports, so she never looked forward to PE lessons.

The afternoon sun's heat clung onto her skin as she did arms and legs stretches at a soccer field. At least Sayaka was on the same team doing warm ups beside her. They were tagged blue while the opposing team were red.

Madoka reluctantly wore a blue tag around her waist, "Maybe I should just switch to another sport like badminton. I'll just bring the whole team down."

She could not pass the ball properly, nor run fast enough to be useful. Having her on the team was like a minus one.

"It's just a friendly match. Don't worry too much about being good. Besides, you have me."

"Still..."

If it wasn't for Sayaka, she definitely would have went for badminton.

The match started with a whistle blow.

Madoka ran about, but she soon found herself confused as the ball flew about in unpredictable directions and bumped into one of her teammates.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." The girl said before running after the ball that landed on the opposing side.

Madoka stood at a corner of her team's side where she would not end up blocking her teammates.

A girl fired a cross towards Sayaka who followed up with a left shot into the goalpost.

Madoka waved from a distance, "Good job!"

"Thanks!" Sayaka said.

Unlike her, Sayaka was really talented in sports. Unfortunately, she had zero talent in music, and her crush Kamijou Kyousuke was a violin prodigy. The story of Miki Sayaka being a renowned pianist accompanying the violin prodigy Kyousuke could only remain as a fantasy.

The match continued on.

Madoka was still in her little corner watching a game where girls tagged red and blue were chasing after a single ball being kicked around the field.

She definitely should have insisted on badminton. What's the point if she wasn't being useful to the team from her lack of participation?

Just then, the ball landed on her feet.

Madoka blinked as the nervous pounding in her chest grew faster. About five girls from the opposing side charged in her direction like stampeding bulls.

She swerved behind, the ball still under her control.

Mama always taught her to be confident. This was the time to have confidence and believe in herself to make the impossible possible.

I won't disappoint everyone!

She sprinted towards the goalpost and with a beautiful volley, the ball landed inside.

"Good job!" A girl with a red tag said.

Another girl with a red tag gave her the thumbs up. "That was an excellent volley."

Madoka smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

Ah, so Mama was right! If I believe in myself, I can really do this.

"Madoka..." Sayaka sighed.

"What's wrong?"

Why was Sayaka and her fellow teammates so unenthusiastic about her goal? In fact, they seemed rather upset at her.

"You kicked the ball into our goal."

Madoka's face burned crimson red. "What?!"

At least I helped the opposing team scored a goal. That can't be so bad, right...?

I'm completely hopeless.

* * *

Madoka left her bag inside the classroom, so she ran back inside while Sayaka and Hitomi would wait outside near the gate.

After dashing up a flight of stairs leading towards the school building, and three more inside the building, Madoka finally reached the classroom and retrieved her bag.

The time was 5.21pm. 9 minutes more before their favourite cafe would be jam packed with students. Despite her best efforts, she was still too slow. When could she finally stop being a burden to her friends?

A shrill cry for help followed by the sound of plastic being hurled on the ground reverberated from the female toilet.

There were three girls cornering a overweight girl about twice their size. One girl pressed a mop against the overweight girl's head with a sneer while the other two girls laughed.

"Stop it!" Madoka said.

The three girls turned to face Madoka with a disgusted expression. "Are you standing up for this fat loser over here? If you don't want to become our enemy, then get the fuck out of here."

Madoka gulped, "Umm… did she do anything wrong to offend you guys? Let's talk things out and clear up any misunderstandings instead of doing this to her."

An annoyed girl with orange hair clicked her tongue. She was the leader of the trio, Kikuchi Manami. Her father was a very powerful man in charge of this school. "I just hate the sight of her. That's all."

Another girl raised the mop at her, "You have five second to get the fuck out of here before we beat the fuck out of you!"

Madoka forced herself to stay put. She almost let her cowardly instincts get the better of her. "Yo-You can't just do this because you don't like how the way she looks. That's completely unreasonable."

"I am being unreasonable. What are you going to do about it?"

There was nothing Madoka could do. She was not good enough with words to convince them that they are being completely unreasonable, and neither was she good enough of a fighter to protect the overweight girl from the bullies, but she had to try. The teachers in this school tend to ignore bullying despite the reports, and many students often pretend that there's nothing going on.

"Please just let the girl off okay?"

Manami snapped her fingers. "That's it. You've wasted enough of my time listening to your crap."

A girl stepped towards Madoka with a clenched fist. Madoka shut her eyes, body tense. She had enough of looking the other way like the rest.

"What do you think you're doing?!" A familiar voice said. It was Sayaka.

The orange-haired girl rolled her eyes, "Are you a friend of this moron?"

"Don't you dare insult Madoka. Besides, you three were the ones at fault for bullying that girl over there." Sayaka said.

Manami eyed the pink-haired girl with poorly veiled amusement, "Madoka… Kaname Madoka, right? That girl over there must be Miki Sayaka then. I know you two. You're Hitomi's friends. For Hitomi's sake, I'll give you one last chance. Leave and pretend you saw nothing, or you'll be my next target."

Hitomi wasn't very close to Manami, but both their fathers were powerful people who knew each other.

Madoka didn't know if she should accept Manami's offer and be the same coward again. Being Manami's target meant that she would kiss her peaceful school days goodbye.

"I refuse. Let the girl go."

She no longer wanted to be a coward anymore.

"You'll regret your decision."

Manami pushed Madoka aside with a sinister chuckle as her two underlings followed behind.

* * *

Madoka squeezed past a crowd inside an arcade while holding Sayaka's hand.

After dinner with Hitomi, Sayaka suggested arcades, so here she was, inside that crowded and noisy environment. Hitomi was a busy girl who had many other extra activities like piano or Japanese tea ceremony classes after school, so she couldn't come along.

"I was an idiot." Madoka said.

The stake that sticks up gets hammered down. Maybe she should have just ignored the bullying and not create so much trouble for her friends. Especially Sayaka.

Sayaka smiled. "If I were you, I would've done the same thing. I'm really proud of you. Whatever happens tomorrow, I'll be there to protect you from the bullies."

"Thanks."

Knowing Sayaka, she would probably end up in a fight with the bullies tomorrow. In fact, some of her worst memories inside this arcade was Sayaka getting into what would have been a fight if it wasn't for her.

A red-haired girl jumped onto the platform of a DDR machine just as they were about to step onto the platform. She gave off a strong delinquent vibe with her dirty grey jacket accompanied by an arrogant smirk.

"Hey, we were here first. Could you please let the both of us play against each other first?" Sayaka said.

DDR, or Dance Dance Revolution was a rhythm arcade machine where people would stamp his or her feet on the boxes to correspond with the arrows that appears on screen and the beat.

It was one of Sayaka's favourite arcade machine, and she would always play DDR without fail each time they visited the arcade.

"But I stepped onto the platform first. Get lost."

Madoka noticed Sayaka clenching her fist in anger. "Sayaka, calm down alright? I'm sure we can come to a compromise."

Madoka offered a hand to the red-haired girl, "My name is Kaname Madoka. What's yours?"

"Sakura Kyoko."

When it was clear that Kyoko would not return the handshake, Madoka awkwardly retracted her hand.

Sayaka glared at Kyoko, "What's your problem huh? She was trying to be nice."

"Are you seriously deaf? Get lost."

"But we were here first. Why should we leave?"

"Look, there's still another platform left. Why don't you two just take turns and compare scores instead? Moron."

Madoka grabbed hold of Sayaka before she could tackle Kyoko to the ground. "Fighting is wrong!"

"Let me go! That bitch is a different story!"

Kyoko leaned onto the reverse U-shaped metal safety bar, "I ain't scared of a little girl like you. If you want a fight, I'll give you a fight."

Madoka exhausted whatever strength she had left to restrain Sayaka.

"Sayaka! Kyoko! Please stop! I don't want anybody to get hurt over an arcade machine!"

The commotion attracted more and more people around them. Sayaka stopped struggling, conscious about the attention that they were getting.

"Alright, alright. I promise I won't hit that bitch even if I still feel like doing so. Could you please let me go now?"

"You promise?"

"Yes."

"Really? Will you really, really promise me that you won't hit her?"

"Yes my sweetheart Madoka, now let me go."

Madoka was reluctant, but she decided to trust Sayaka for now.

Sayaka adjusted the sleeves of her school uniform. "As a proper lady like myself, it is beneath my status to get into fights with delinquents like you."

Kyoko rolled her eyes as she reached into her pocket and took out another Pocky stick from a red box, "Proper lady? What a joke. You're just a little coward using your friend as an excuse to run away. Are you afraid that you'd lose?"

"Why you!"

Madoka leaped to restrain Sayaka again, "You promised me not to fight her!"

"If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll never learn to shut up!"

Kyoko pushed herself back upright from the metal bar. "Let's make a deal. If you win, I'll leave. If I win, I get to stay. Deal?"

Madoka jumped at the opportunity to resolve the conflict. "Of course! Right Sayaka?"

This calmed Sayaka down. "Yeah. Now let me go Madoka. We've got some ass kicking to do."

"We?"

Standing on one half of the platform was Madoka and Sayaka on the other half. There were four boxes in total on the platform, two on each side. Madoka was in charge of the two boxes on one side, while Sayaka was in charge of the other two boxes.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

"You got a problem with that? Nobody said we can't team up." Sayaka said.

"Yeah whatever. You're still going to lose anyway." Kyoko said, her arms gripped firmly on the metal bar behind her.

Sayaka shot a smile at Madoka, "Let's do this!"

"Ye-Yeah!"

Doubts filled her mind. Would she screw this up again like her own goal during that soccer match this afternoon? No one blamed her, but she still felt extremely guilty about the incident.

At least for her best friend's sake, she would try and believe in herself again.

And so with the selection of the most difficult song in the game, the two versus one survival match began.

* * *

Madoka locked arms around Sayaka as Sayaka kept on laughing. There were only a few people left on the streets as shops began closing for the day.

"You should have seen her face when we actually won!" Sayaka said before bursting into laughter again.

Madoka chuckled, "I'll never forget how she was so shocked that the Pocky stick fell from her mouth."

Sure, they looked silly playing DDR as two person on the machine, and even that Kyoko widened her eyes in surprise at their strategy, but results are results. Like what Mama would say, it's not about how, but whether or not you succeeded in achieving what you wanted. That was usually followed up by firing a few incompetent people at work whatever the means necessary. Mama can be really scary at times.

"I should've taken a photo of that bitch's face. What a waste."

"But Kyoko was really good. We only won by a single point!"

It was the most difficult song in the whole game, and Kyoko managed to achieve full combo. Of course with flawless coordination and teamwork, they managed to achieve full combo as well.

In the end, Kyoko lost because she had one less perfect than them.

Sayaka noticed a CD shophouse already closed for the day. Compared to the CD shops in shopping mall, these kind of shops tend to sell rarer recordings normally not found elsewhere.

"That reminds me. Let's go shopping tomorrow! There's something I want to get for Kyousuke."

"Another CD recording?"

Sayaka put a finger to her chin, "Maybe I should get him something different this time... ah well, that's what shopping is for. We'll find something suitable for sure."

"Definitely."

Kamijou Kyousuke. An incredibly talented violinist, and was also Sayaka's childhood friend. Given how she tends to act around him, Madoka was very sure that she had a crush on him, and she finally got her to admit it during a sleepover with Hitomi.

Those were the memories she would always treasure in her heart. Forever and always.

After seeing Sayaka to her house, Madoka waved goodbye with a smile and left for her own house through the park.

"I guess I'm not that hopeless after all."

At least she didn't end up as a burden again to Sayaka, and that was all it mattered to her.

* * *

The starry night was like a black canvas with many tiny glittering diamonds pasted on it.

Sometimes, Madoka thought of becoming someone useful, like a magical girl that can protect people from evil. Even if she did become a magical girl, was she capable enough to protect people with her powers?

A silver briefcase landed in front of her.

Attached to the briefcase was a note with her name on it, stating that the briefcase was meant for her.

Madoka opened the briefcase. Inside, there was a belt at the top portion, a red mechanical beetle in the center, and a booklet at the bottom right corner.

"Isn't that Kamen Rider?"

It looked very different from all the other Kamen Rider shows she watched with Tatsuya, but like all other Kamen Riders, it had a belt and some kind of device to transform.

She flipped open the booklet.

As expected, it was just like Kamen Rider. Wear belt, then slot the beetle across the front part of the belt to transform.

 _… After transforming once, all you have to do for subsequent transformations is simply wish for it and the Kabuto Zecter will appear together with a belt around your waist._

There was a note at the end of the booklet.

 _Grandmother once said, make the world revolve around you, it's more fun to think that way. You are much more greater than you think you are. That's why I'm giving the Kabuto Zecter to you._

Was this some sort of a prank? She looked around to see if there was anyone filming in secret. No one seemed to be there, but maybe they hid themselves well. Sayaka and Hitomi wasn't the sort of friends who would prank people, and her classmates and clubmates had no reason to prank her as well.

Madoka decided to hand the briefcase over to the police. They would know what to do with it. Prank or no prank, this was probably the best option.

Soft footsteps from behind caught her attention.

A girl around her age floundered towards her with eyes wide open, completely devoid of any life. She collapsed and exploded into a dark mass.

Madoka closed her eyes to shield herself from the explosion. When she opened her eyes, her world was no longer the same.

"Where am I….?"

The night sky was replaced by a red canvas scribbled with white curly lines. It was a desolate world haphazardly plastered with renaissance artworks.

Madoka trembled in fear. This wasn't the Mitakihara City she knew. What exactly is this place? What was going on?!

She heard another girl's voice.

"Umm… hello. Do you know where exactly are we?"

It was from a bespectacled girl with twin braids that reached past her shoulders. A black cat stood beside her.

Madoka shook her head. "I guess we have no choice but to explore the place first. Don't worry, we'll get out of here somehow."

The fear of not being able to see her family and Sayaka again almost forced her to tears, but she had to put up a brave front and not let the frightened girl feel like there was no hope of ever getting out of this place.

The cat's meowing echoed through the bizarre atmosphere as they walked along the uneven ground.

"What's your name? I'm Kaname Madoka!"

The girl looked away awkwardly, "Umm... my name is Akemi Homura. Nice to meet you."

Madoka grabbed hold of her hand with a smile, "You don't have to be so nervous. Are you attending any school right now?"

Homura's face went red. "I... just moved into this city so right now I don't go to any school."

"What school are you planning to go to then?"

"Mitakihara Middle School. I'll be transferring to that school in a few days time."

"Really? I'm in the same school as well. We could be classmates!"

"If we make it out alive here first… By the way, what's inside that suitcase?"

"It's a Kamen Rider toy. Or at least I think it is."

"What do you mean by that?"

Madoka thought that the silver suitcase might be a prank done by someone, but now she wasn't so sure anymore.

A silver astylar monument popped from the ground together with three artwork-like monsters scuttling towards them.

"Run!" Madoka said.

As Madoka dashed across the uneven ground as she dragged Homura along, more and more monsters popped up around them.

Homura let out a scream as her legs gave way. She clutched at her chest in extreme agony.

"Wh-What's wrong?!" Madoka said. Monsters were closing in around them. This was the worst time to collapse in pain.

"Medicine... my medicine..."

Madoka frantically searched her body for any medication, but none was nowhere to be found.

"I can't find anything!"

Homura screamed again, the clutching at her chest grew tighter.

The pink-haired girl blinked back tears as she tried to find something on Homura again. She had to be faster than that. The monsters were coming.

"I've g-got to defeat the monsters or we'll both die!"

Madoka attached the silver belt around her waist, and inserted the red mechanical beetle across the front slot of the belt.

 **[HENSHIN]**

A distorted robotic voice announced. It wasn't a toy after all!

Hexagon pixels transformed Madoka into a red, armored beetle-like figure. A beetle horn split the glowing blue visor of the helmet into two, separating each part into something like eyes.

 **[CHANGE BEETLE]**

Kabuto pressed a button on her Zecter and flipped the beetle horn lever back and forth.

 **[PUT ON]**

A wrist crossbow appeared on Kabuto's arm and she fired red arrows at the incoming swarm of monsters. The monsters kept coming in waves. There seemed to be no end to the monsters.

"Wh-What should I do now?!"

Was she supposed to just keep firing until every monster was dead? Or just take Homura, and run? Or what?

Her thoughts spun so fast that it blurred into nothingness. Other than firing at the monsters, Madoka could not think of anything better.

After what seemed like forever, a blue dragonfly-like armored figure wielding a spear appeared.

"You must be kidding me!" The figure said.

It shook its head at Madoka before she broke into a sprint towards the silver monument, leaving trails of exploding monsters behind her.

"Rider Piercing."

 **[RIDER PIERCING]**

The spear in its hand glowed a brilliant blue before it hurled the spear at the monument. After a huge explosion, the strange world faded back into reality where the sky was pitch black and the ground was an even path in the park.

The red mechanical beetle flew away and Madoka's armour faded into tiny hexagon pixels.

In front of her was a red-haired girl… wasn't she Sakura Kyoko, the girl whom she defeated in a game of DDR with Sayaka just this evening?

Kyoko snapped, "Don't just look at me like an idiot! Perform CPR on the girl while I go get the ambulance."

With trembling hands, Madoka pressed down hard on Homura's chest.

"Please be okay... Please..." She muttered while tears dripped down her cheeks..

She would never forgive herself if something horrible were to happen to Homura.

* * *

The doctor had a grave expression as he exited the ER room.

Madoka took a deep breath, "So how's Homura...?"

"I'm sorry. We did our best, but we were unable to revive her. "

"I see. Thank you. "

Madoka sank back to her chair. If only she knew that destroying the monument was the key to escaping, then she would definitely have been able to send Homura to the hospital in time. Then maybe... Homura might be still alive.

"It wasn't your fault. Stop crying." Kyoko said.

"But I failed to save Homura... it was my fault that she died."

"Hey, at least you tried. If you had left her alone instead, she would have been killed by the Witch anyway. How is this your fault?"

"I'm the worst rider. I don't deserve to be Kabuto."

Kamen Riders were supposed to be heroes. What kind of a hero she was if she couldn't even save a single person's life?

Kyoko munched on an apple, "You could just quit being Kabuto. It's not like you're obliged to transform, ya know?"

How could a clumsy, slow-witted idiot like her possibly save the world with the Kabuto Zecter? Whoever gave her the Zecter must have made a horrible mistake.

"Are you the two girls who found Homura? I'm her guardian, Shijima Kiriko." A lady said. Her dress seemed like something one could get from a bargain store, but her looks were as stunning as a fashion model with her doll-like eyes and porcelain skin.

Madoka frantically wiped tears away. "Y-Yes. I'm really sorry about Homura! I really am!"

"Don't be." Kiriko said, "It was only a matter of time."

The guilt within Madoka intensified as she saw how resigned and melancholic the lady seemed to be.

* * *

A 'doctor' entered the ER room.

Akemi Homura laid at the operating bed, cold and motionless. Her death was confirmed at around 2120, or 9.20pm.

It might be unnecessarily cruel, but Homura was a dangerous girl who once took over the Universe because of her selfishness. Since all data has successfully been extracted from Homura, her existence no longer has any value, and she must not be revived ever again.

The 'doctor' took out a green memory stick from his white coat.

 **[CYCLONE]**


	2. Chapter 2

Madoka sat in her chair, unable to muster the appetite to eat her breakfast. Akemi Homura's death still weighed like a ton of bricks in her mind.

It was only less than a day, but her death was all over the newspaper. Apparently, Homura was somehow connected to Philip, CEO of Smart Brain Corporation and one of the most influential person in Mitakihara City. Even respectable newspapers like Yomidori Shinbun were writing tabloid articles about how Akemi Homura was Philip's secret love child, and how the mother might be Homura's guardian, Shijima Kiriko.

"Madoka, at least eat a little?" Her mother Junko smiled encouragingly, "Homura's death isn't your fault. You did your best to save her, but sometimes things won't always go the way you want it to be."

Madoka pushed a small piece of pancake into her mouth, "I just feel so useless. Maybe if my CPR was better or something, I could have saved her."

Her father appeared from the kitchen and placed a steaming sunny-side-up on Tatsuya's plate. "There is a very small time frame about four to six minutes to save a person from dying of a heart attack. It really isn't your fault if you couldn't save her. I'm sure Homura is in a better place now."

Tears streamed down from Madoka's cheeks.

From the time Homura collapsed inside the strange world to the time where she transformed into Kabuto and shoot monsters like a moron, she only had six minutes to send Homura to the hospital.

And yet her plan was just to stand beside Homura and fire arrows like an idiot to fend off the endless swarm of monsters for as long as possible?

If only she realized how little time Homura had.

If only...

What an idiot she was.

In a world blurred by tears, Madoka found herself pulled into her mother's warm embrace.

"Do you want to take the day off school instead?" Junko said.

"I'm fine, Mama." Madoka said.

No matter how horrible she still felt from being the greatest failure in life, her club still needed her help for the upcoming annual cultural festival. She had to be strong enough like Mama and move on.

* * *

Madoka arrived at the park where her friends Sayaka and Hitomi would wait for her before walking to school together.

However, only Sayaka was here today.

"Where's Hitomi?"

"You don't remember? Hitomi said she needed to reach school earlier for the rest of the week to prepare for the annual cultural festival." Sayaka said.

"Oh yeah…" Madoka said. If she had a better memory, maybe her grades would finally be As instead of Bs despite hours of hard work.

Sayaka laughed at how it was typical of Madoka to forget about things. "Anyway, don't be too upset about Akemi Homura. You did your best after all."

"How did you know?!"

"Because your name was on the papers with that bitch from the arcade last night."

"If only I had better CPR… I might have saved her..." Madoka said.

Should she tell Sayaka the truth? Her head was still spinning in confusion about her sudden transformation into a Kamen Rider and Sayaka seemed like the best person to ask for advice given her knowledge of the superhero genre, but would Sayaka believe such a ridiculous story?

"... Actually, I have something to tell you, but will you believe me?"

"Of course. I'm your best friend. You can trust me with anything!" Sayaka patted her chest confidently.

"Actually, I..."

Madoka proceeded to talk about the metallic briefcase containing a belt and the Kabuto Zecter accompanied by a note.

Sayaka blinked, "I have a Zecter as well."

This morning when Sayaka woke up, she found a metallic briefcase like what Madoka found last evening on her study desk.

Inside, there was a belt, a indigo mechanical stag beetle known as the Gatack Zecter, and a booklet containing brief instructions on how to use the Zecter and transform into an armoured rider followed by a strange note.

"... The note said that I was given the Gatack Zecter because I wash my face and brush my teeth twice a day. What is that suppose to mean?! That is the lamest reason ever!" Sayaka said.

Madoka stopped herself from bursting into laughter. In elementary school, Sayaka only brushed her teeth once in the morning until Kyousuke offhandedly commented to a friend during a lecture by a dentist that people who only brush their teeth once a day are disgusting.

Sayaka looked at Madoka embarrassed, "I know what you're thinking! If you ever tell Kyousuke I used to brush my teeth once a day..."

Sayaka hugged Madoka from behind, "I'll tickle you until you die!"

Madoka struggled to break free as Sayaka attacked her waist and armpits. "O-Ok! I-I won't! I won't! I promise!"

Madoka heaved a sigh of relief as the tickling stopped. Being tickled was the worst form of torture.

"Don't you find it strange? The person who wrote this note seem to know so much about us. I suddenly have a bad feeling about transforming. In the first place, what exactly are we fighting against by transforming?" Sayaka said.

"I don't know how to explain it to you, but there's a monster that creates a barrier to trap people inside before killing them. If I had found a way to destroy the monster and escape the barrier, I could have sent Homura to the hospital in time..."

Tears leaked from the corner of Madoka's eyes. She was a crybaby, and a complete idiot who should probably stay away from being a hero.

Sayaka passed a tissue pack to Madoka, "It wasn't your fault at all! Even Batman had to start training before he could become a hero to save people. You're not alone. I will be fighting beside you as well."

"But is it really okay for you to transform? I mean, this whole thing just feels weird… especially the notes."

Sayaka shook her head, "It's fine. I can't possibly leave you alone to fight the monsters. In a way I'm glad that I have a Zecter as well. At least we have each other now. Let's fight the monsters together, Madoka!"

* * *

The Gardening and Crafts club room was full of people working on the annual cultural festival. At one corner were people cutting and folding colored paper as decorations for the booth which was being built at another corner.

Madoka's role for this event was to take care of the exotic flowers that would be displayed during the event. The flowers were kept inside a special greenhouse just outside this room.

Beautiful violin music danced around the air like a graceful waltz. It was Kyousuke playing the violin, fully absorbed inside the sound of his music. Normally, he would be at the music room to practice, but why was he here?

A girl waved hello with a scissors in hand. "Do you mind if you help me check on the greenhouse flowers?"

"Sorry, but where's Mami?"

"Oh, she's outside watering flowers."

This girl was Tsuyu, her partner who was also in charge of the greenhouse flowers. The other flowers were flowers of a normal variety which can be easily grown outside without any technological aid unlike the greenhouse flowers.

A blond-haired girl with drill curls appeared from a back door. She was Tomoe Mami, the leader in charge of this club.

"Good afternoon Mami. I was wondering if I could skip today's session to join my friend for the MMA tryouts." Madoka said, embarrassed. Everyone was so busy, so it seemed really rude to ask to leave for her own personal reasons that wasn't very urgent. But she promised Sayaka that they would train together.

"Why the sudden interest in MMA? And especially during a time when we need all the help we can get." Mami said.

"I think that's just Madoka's excuse to slack off somewhere." A girl named Mitsuki said as she put her crayon back into a box filled with other crayons neatly categorized based on a color scheme Madoka didn't quite understand.

Like Mami, Mitsuki was a girl that people could rely on, and was responsible for the club room's tidiness and organisation.

"Umm…" Madoka said.

For some reason, Mitsuki didn't seem to like her. Madoka tried her best, but Mitsuki refused to be her friend. Apparently, her existence alone was enough for Mitsuki to hate her. Madoka remembered how she once cried for nights because of Mitsuki.

"I… err…"

This was bad. She had forgotten the excuse that she rehearsed endlessly in her mind during class!

"Is your friend Miki Sayaka?" Mami said.

"Yes! She really really wants me to join her because it's her first time and she's afraid to go alone so that's why I need to accompany her!"

Mami shot a glance at Kyousuke still lost within his music, "If that's the case… I'll just return Kyousuke a favour and let you join your friend Sayaka."

Mitsuki rolled her eyes and went back to coloring. "Idiots."

Madoka bowed, "Thank you so much!"

* * *

The gym where the MMA training was being held smelled thickly of sweat as trainees equipped with protective gears punched and kicked at the punching bags while yelling as loud as they can.

Madoka sat by the wall, gasping for air. Her muscles throbbed in pain. Even the slightest movement of her body intensified the pain.  
"Are… you still alive?" Sayaka managed to get the words out from her mouth after much struggling. She was as desperate for air as Madoka.

"I think we're better off dead… this workout is insane..."

The workout consisted of an intense exercise circuit repeated five times. By some kind of a miracle, they managed to finish the whole workout. Was Mama right when she said that there are no limits to what the human body is capable of? If so, can a girl like her overcome her weaknesses and limits and grow into a better person?

The noise gradually ceased as a red-haired girl brushed her long ponytail aside with a hand as she stepped into the gym. Unlike the rest who were wearing protective gears, Kyoko was wearing a grey sweater over her PE attire.

Madoka blinked. Wasn't she that girl from last night?! Sakura Kyoko was in the same school as her and Sayaka?!

"Why are you here?" An olive green-haired girl named Miyoshi Airi glared at Kyoko.

"Because I feel like it."

"This club isn't some place you can come and go as you like! Do you realize that is your first attendance for the past few months?"

"Does that mean I'm expelled from the club? Do you really want to expel me?"

The other members stepped in with awkward smiles.

"I'm sure Airi doesn't mean it like that. You'll always be part of the club even if you don't come that often!" A member said.

"Yeah! Maybe you could come more often for Airi's sake?" Another member added.

Airi gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, her face twisted into pure rage. "Sakura Kyoko!"

"What's your problem anyway?" Kyoko peeled a banana open and took a bite, "I won tournaments and helped the club grew in popularity. Shouldn't you be nicer to me?"

"You should've been expelled a long time ago. It's not fair how you're still a member when you don't even show up for training."

"What do you mean by 'it's not fair'? I won tournaments for the club, so I get to remain as a member. There's nothing difficult to understand about it."

Madoka gulped when she felt Kyoko's gaze fell upon her. Kyoko was like a predator who had spotted an easy prey.

"Kaname Madoka, right? Stand up." Kyoko said.

Madoka obediently stood up.

Sayaka stood up as well, wary of the red-haired bitch. "What do you want from us?"

"I have no business with you. This is between me and Madoka. Get lost."

Sayaka looked at Madoka, confused. "What's going between the two of you that you didn't tell me?"

"There's nothing else between us. I don't know exactly what she wants from me."

A fist from Kyoko flew across Madoka's cheeks, knocking Madoka to the ground.

Everyone gasped in horror at Kyoko's sudden violence, but no one dared to stop her. She was that strong of a fighter.

"Sorry, but if you aren't fast enough to react from a fist I casually threw, my advice for you is to pretend everything was just a dream."

"I don't understand..." Madoka said dazedly.

"What I'm saying is, continue living your peaceful life normally. Don't be a hero if you can't even fight properly."

Sayaka rushed towards Kyoko with a raised fist. Kyoko grabbed Sayaka by the throat and chokeslammed her before she trampled Sayaka's abdomen and kicked her aside.

"Warned ya, didn't I? Get lost." Kyoko said, "Kaname Madoka, I don't really care if you want to be a moron regardless of my warning, but remember that you don't get to choose how strong your enemy is. If you make even one tiny mistake in a fight, you could end up dead. Take my advice and quit if you still cherish your life."

"B-But I promised Sayaka we would fight the monsters together!"

Kyoko cracked her knuckles, "Then prepare to die."

Madoka closed her eyes and prepared herself for the worst. There was no way she would win a fight against a veteran like Kyoko.

"Stop it!" Mami said as she pushed through the crowd.

Kyoko clicked her tongue, "Why are you here anyway?"

"I have something I want to talk to you about."

Kyoko shot a glance at both Madoka and Sayaka, "If it's what I think it is, you already have your answer."

"Then there's something else I want to talk to you about."

"What's going on…?" Madoka said as she watched Mami drag Kyoko away towards the gym's exit.

* * *

Madoka and Sayaka wandered around an abandoned district in Mitakihara City as the sky glowed bright orange. They had just finished testing both their Zecters under a bridge and was ready to hunt monsters.

Sayaka had a theory that the monsters are most likely located in underpopulated areas because... many other mysterious monsters in mangas and TV are usually found in such areas preying on unsuspecting wanderers. It isn't completely illogical though. After all, unless they can switch into a human form, they'll have to hide in unpopulated areas to remain unknown to others.

"Do you think that there are other Riders like us out there?" Madoka said.

The conversation between Mami and Kyoko seemed to suggest that Mami also knew something about the Zecters, but Mami was nowhere to be seen after disappearing with Kyoko. Madoka tried calling Mami, but Mami wasn't picking up her phone.

"Maybe if we could convince Kyoko that we are serious about fighting, she might teach us how to fight or something." Madoka said.

"Are you out of your mind? That bitch is insane. She punched you for no reason, and you still want to talk to her?"

"I think she punched me to see if I was worthy of becoming a Rider, and I failed the test. But I really want to show her that we're really serious about saving people from the monsters."

"And expose yourself to more abuse from her? We can always find another person like Mami, it doesn't have to be that bitch."

"You think Mami is a Rider as well?"

"Seems that way to me though… Anyway, let's just take things slowly and start by hunting the monsters. We should be able to find some clues along the way."

"Don't you think it's better to wait for Mami? I mean, there's so much we don't know about the monsters..."

A woman stood at the edge of a rooftop of a building in a daze. After mumbling a few words, she leaned her body forward, and let gravity pull her down towards the ground below.

Madoka screamed, her body frozen with shock at the horrifying scene.

A mechanical indigo stag beetle swooped down and transformed Sayaka into her Rider form. She leaped up and caught the woman in her arms.

"Thank goodness." The indigo armored rider Gatack let out a relieved sigh.

In her shock and confusion, Madoka forgot she could transform as well.

The indigo armored rider had horns protruding from the sides like a stag beetle mask. Attached to each shoulder was a sleek, curved blade similar to the horns of a stag beetle.

A portal appeared. On its white surface, there was a intricate butterfly design that looked like a long piece of red cloth tied into an ribbon.

"I think this must be somewhat related to the monsters. Let's check it out."

It was impossible to pretend everything was just a dream after seeing her best friend transform into a Rider.

A red mechanical beetle flew into her outstretched hand.

No, this was real. She could feel the cold metallic device. A belt had also formed around her waist.

Madoka slotted the Zecter across the belt.

 **[HENSHIN]**

Hexagon pixels transformed her into the red armored rider Kabuto.  
 **  
[CHANGE BEETLE]**

There was no turning back now.

* * *

Inside the portal was a distorted world filled with child-like laughter and the sound of ringing bells. Unlike the previous world that was similarly distorted in a way Pablo Picasso would have done in his synthetic cubism style of drawing, this world seemed to revolve around roses, mustaches and butterflies.

Gatack and Kabuto dashed up the winding stairs as mustached cotton-ball minions passed roses to each other in the background.

The indigo Rider slashed at the pesky moustached butterflies flying about, "This isn't as hard I thought."

"Let's find the monster who created this barrier. It must be inside here somewhere."

Madoka had never fired a wrist crossbow in her life before, but the armor somehow made her an expert. None of her shots missed the butterflies.

Sayaka did have a few kendo training sessions when she was younger, but there was no way she could dodge and slash multiple, small moving creatures with such practiced ease. This armor was incredible. It could turn anyone into a super solider, but out of so many other capable people in Japan, why Sayaka and her?

"Ok!" Sayaka said.

Arrows made a wall of cotton clouds disperse into nothing and a series of doors zoomed past, transporting them into a stadium-sized room. The walls were white, and the grass was a vibrant green.

A humongous mushroom-like creature with butterfly wings stood in the center. The cap was a lump of grass with roses growing from it. Moustached butterflies like the ones from outside fluttered around.

Gatack pointed its blade at the creature. "That big one over there must be that monster. You'll provide firepower support from behind while I'll go and destroy it."

"Go-Got it!"

Can a person like her really... no! This was not the time to paralyze herself in doubts!

Madoka fired arrows after arrows that struck down any butterflies in the way as Gatack charged valiantly at the mushroom rose monster.

Before Gatack could land her blade on the Witch, it took off into the air.

"Madoka! Try to shoot the Witch down!"

The monster fired scissors in retaliation. It acted like a pseudo barrier, preventing any arrow from hitting its master.

"It's no use!" Kabuto said.

Gatack swung her blade around, deflecting the raining scissors. All Madoka could do for Sayaka was to keep the moustached butterflies away from her.

What should she do in such a situation?! Her mind was a complete blank again. It was times like this when Madoka realized how hopeless of a person she was.

"Don't worry, I got this. You're doing great! Continue firing!" Gatack said.

Gatack hopped onto a stag beetle hoverboard and flew into the air.

Black ropes erupted from the monster, wrapped itself around Gatack's leg, and yanked Gatack away from her hoverboard.

Kabuto tried to shoot down the flying mushroom rose monster hurling Sayaka down onto the ground before spinning her around midair like a lasso, but the scissors kept deflecting the pink arrows away.

"Do something! Madoka!"

"I can't shoot it down! It just keeps flying around!"

Madoka felt a tear or two rolling down her cheeks. If she didn't do anything soon, Sayaka would die! And it would be all her fault for being so useless!

"Maybe you have something that files like my hoverboard?" Gatack shouted before being slammed into a wall.

"A motorcycle can't fly!"

"Tell my mum I love her even though she's a lazy slob."

"I w-won't let you die!"

"Then do something already! I may be armored but it doesn't mean I'm not in pain!"

Is Sayaka going to die just like Akemi Homura because of her?

Just like the previous time, she was standing at a corner, firing at an endless swarm of monsters, and failed to save anybody in the end.

Kabuto tapped three buttons on top of her Zecter before flipping the horn lever back and forth, "I… I will not let Sayaka die!"

 **[RIDER KICK]**

A surge of electricity from the Zecter rushed across Kabuto's armor before Kabuto leaped towards the flying mushroom rose monster like a red electric torpedo.

The monster flew out of the way and Kabuto crashed into a wall.

Kabuto got up, disorientated from the impact. Sayaka was still being hurled about by the monster. Her final attack failed to hit the monster.

What else can she do now…?

Madoka felt tears streaming down her cheeks. In the end, she failed to save anybody. She was truly the worst Rider who didn't deserve to be Kabuto.

A barrage of scissors rained down upon Kabuto.

"Am I going to die here as well...?" Madoka said.

She knew she should be dodging the scissors, but her armor now weighed as much as heavy lead. There was no more strength left within her.

Yellow laser beams deflected the scissors away.

"Are you alright?" A yellow bee-like armored rider said. The voice sounded very familiar. Could it be…

"Mami?!" Kabuto said.

The yellow bee-like armored rider nodded and touched the side of her belt.

 **[READY]**

She vanished into a blur, severed the black rope that was trashing Sayaka about, and caught Sayaka mid-air.

Steam erupted from the yellow bee-like armor before it collapsed into hexagon pixels. A mechanical bumblebee flew away. It was Tomoe Mami behind the armor.

Both Kabuto and Gatack's armor collapsed into hexagon pixels and the two mechanical beetle flew away as well.

But the monster still wasn't defeated yet.

"H-How are we going to defeat the monster now?" Madoka said.

Mami smiled, "Don't worry, Kyoko is here."

A blue dragonfly armored rider morphed her spear into a sword with a golden blade. There were four colours at the hilt. Red, blue, yellow and purple.

Kyoko then pushed the handle down horizontally, turning the sword into something like a gun.

She pressed the blue button...

 **[DRAKE POWER]**

before the trigger.

 **[HYPER SHOOTING]**

A crackling white energy ball split into multiple homing beams that pierced through the monster no matter how fast it flew around.

The stadium-sized room fell apart into the previous abandoned building interior. All of them were back into the real world.

Madoka rushed over to Sayaka who had cuts and bruises all over her body.

"Are you alright?!"

"Yeah." Sayaka groaned. "Still alive and kicking."

"Thank god!"

"No problem." Kyoko said.

"I didn't know God was a female..." Sayaka said.

Madoka chuckled amidst her tears. At least Sayaka was still alive.

Mami looked at both Madoka and Sayaka apologetically. "I'm sorry for not returning your call soon enough. Let's go to my house. I believe an explanation is in order."


	3. Chapter 3

Mami's house was surprisingly minimalistic for a girl who dressed so elegantly like a rich ojou-sama. The only furnitures Mami had were the bare essentials such as a coffee table with some colored cushion around it, TV, sofa, a dining table near the kitchen, and a bookshelf filled with books about cooking.

A white creature greeted them by the door. "Hello! Come to think of it Mami, I've never seen you bring guests along with Kyoko over here."

The white creature had a pair of red eyes with a tail larger than its body. Appendages each bearing a floating golden ring extended from its ears.

"What exactly is that thing…?" Sayaka said.

Kyoko jumped into a colored cushion around the coffee table, "His name is Kyuubey, you dimwit."

"Shut up before I come over there and beat your ass up." Sayaka said.

"Says the one who got her own ass beaten up because of her stupidity."

Madoka held Sayaka's arm and led her to the side of the coffee table opposite Kyoko, "Calm down! Let's not fight, you're still hurt after all."

Sayaka took a deep breath, "Just ask that Kyoko to keep her damm mouth shut."

Kyoko rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'm only here for Mami's cake anyway."

Mami smiled, "Kyuubey, let me make something for our guests first before I explain the situation."

"Got it."

Kyuubey leaped into a colored cushion beside Kyoko. "If I'm not wrong, the both of you must have been chosen by the Zecters, no?"

"About that… were you the one who wrote the note?" Sayaka said.

"Note?" Kyuubey said.

Madoka then proceeded to explain how the Zecters arrived in the form of a silver briefcase with a note attached inside.

"What exactly are the Zecters?" Madoka said.

Mami appeared from the kitchen with a tray of cakes and cups of ice-cream. "Dig in."

Madoka took a bite of the cake. "Th-This is delicious!"

The soft texture and sweetness of the cake was so wonderfully balanced that Madoka was sure that Mami could make a fortune selling cakes.

"It's so delicious I can eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!" Sayaka said.

Madoka poked Sayaka's stomach teasingly, "If you eat too much cake and not watch your weight, Kyousuke will abandon you."

Sayaka shook her head with a grin, "As long as my sweetheart Madoka doesn't abandon me, I don't care about Kyousuke anymore."

Kyoko tossed cake after cake into her mouth, "Who's Kyousuke? He's probably some nerd who'd reject you for being reckless and stupid."

Sayaka clenched her fists, "Why you! I thought I told you to shut your damm mouth."

Madoka chuckled nervously, "We're fellow Riders, right? Let's all try to get along... "

"Maybe if that Kyoko could shut her damm mouth for once." Sayaka said.

"Maybe..." Kyoko swallowed her cake. "... if that Miki Sayaka stop being so reckless and stupid. What in the world were the both of you thinking anyway?! Fighting monsters without any combat experience?! Did your brain get flushed down the toilet?"

"I'm sorry." Madoka said. It was her fault for not being strong enough to hold back Sayaka and tell her that she was being reckless as usual.

Sayaka stared at the cake red with embarrassment , unable to say anything in response.

"Now, now Kyoko." Mami said. "Everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is to learn from them. That being said, I hope that the both of you will not be so reckless next time."

"Yes, Mami. We understand." Both Madoka and Sayaka said.

Kyuubey leaped onto the coffee table, "Now, shall we start explaining the situation?"

Mami nodded, "Where should I start… alright, let me explain what exactly the Zecters are."

The Zecters that they all have now was a different version than the original version.

The original version had an active Clock Up function that allowed them to travel at a very fast speed to fight against an alien being known as Worms who could also move very fast.

In this version, the Clock Up function is now passive as a counter to the enemy's Heavy Acceleration ability.

"Heavy Acceleration?" Madoka said.

"Mami, do you have any idea who gave us the Zecter? Was it Kyuubey?" Sayaka said.

Mami took out a tablet displaying pictures of two person, "Let me first explain what exactly are we fighting against."

The people responsible for the Witches was Philip, CEO of Smart Brain and Shijima Kiriko. Wasn't Kiriko the same woman who was taking care of Homura? Madoka thought. What exactly was going on?

According to Mami, they were planning something by trying to recreate a system where young girls would offer their soul for a wish to become a magical girl, but they would eventually turn into a monster known as Witches when the use of the magic corrupts their soul beyond redemption. The monster that they were fighting just now was a Witch.

"Initially, this system was created by our race to harvest energy for the Universe through the emotions of young girls." Kyuubey said. "But it proved to be too dangerous. Because of this system, a single girl managed to take control over the entire Universe."

"Thanks to the Kamen Riders who sacrificed themselves, the girl was defeated and the Universe was free once again." Mami said. "It… isn't exactly as simple as that, but the gist is there."

Sayaka pointed at the tablet, "So our purpose as a Rider is to defeat those two villains?"

"To stop them from producing any more Witches and recreating the system, yes." Mami said.

"Anyway, I think we've been asking for quite for some time already, but can anyone tell us who exactly was the one who wrote the note and gave us the Zecter?" Sayaka said.

Kyoko slammed the fork on the coffee table before stomping out of the house.

Sayaka blinked. "Is she on her period or something?"

"Is Kyoko alright?" Madoka said.

Mami sighed, "Actually, Philip and Kiriko used to be Riders who would never do such a thing like creating Witches to hurt people. But I don't know what happened to them after that battle against that girl who took control over the Universe. Kyoko and I have been trying to ask them why, but they won't tell us anything. I think Kyoko might be frustrated over this issue. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

"If you're wondering, the Zecters that Mami and Kyoko have now were upgraded by me to specifically counter Heavy Acceleration and to address the flaws that the original Zecters had." Kyuubey said. "However... I'm not so sure about your Zecters. Is it fine if I take a look?"

A mechanical red beetle and indigo stag beetle landed on the coffee table. Kyuubey rested his paws on the Zecters and its body shimmered.

The shimmer around Kyuubey's body disappeared. "I see. There are some curious peculiarities regarding both your Zecters, but it is as good as Mami and Kyoko's Zecters."

"What do you mean by that?" Sayaka said.

"I had plans to create two more Zecters and recruit more worthy people to fight Philip and Kiriko, but the Zecters I planned to create are already in your hands completed and ready for combat."

Mami flashed a tired smile, "We can talk about the Zecters another time. The most important thing now is to explain the Heavy Acceleration ability and the Witches in detail."

Madoka and Sayaka nodded as Mami resumed her explanation. It was going to be a long night, but at least there were tea and cakes to get through the night.

* * *

Madoka dreaded every step towards school.

The Witches might be tricky, but it wasn't very difficult to defeat them. One Rider Kick was enough to kill most Witches, so landing that Rider Kick was the key strategy.

The problem were the henchmen, as Sayaka puts it. The 'henchmen' were other girls around their age given powers by the main villains (Philip/Kiriko) to turn other people into Witches by inflicting despair upon them. It would be more accurate to call them dark magical girls who were committing evil for a promised wish though.

Her dread grew with each increasing step. What if her classmates or clubmates were actually dark magical girls in disguise? If she couldn't convince them, then the only option left was either to kill them or let them spawn more Witches and hurt more people.

Madoka rubbed her temples. The thought of killing someone, especially people she knew, made her dizzy with fear.

Up ahead, Sayaka and Hitomi was quarrelling.

"What's wrong?" Madoka said.

Hitomi looked at Madoka displeased, "Why were you so foolish?"

"Huh?"

"I am talking about Kikuchi Manami. Did you forget about her already?" Hitomi said.

"Kikuchi Manami? Oh." Madoka said.

The incident where she stood up for a overweight girl who was being bullied and offended the biggest bully in Mitakihara Academy, Kikuchi Manami, came to her mind. So much has happened that she completely forgot about Kikuchi Manami.

"Manami gave you a chance for my sake, and you just threw that away for a stranger? Whatever that happens to you later on, it is none of my business anymore!"

Hitomi stomped off to school, leaving Madoka and Sayaka in the wake of her anger.

Madoka sighed. "Was I wrong?"

"I think you did the right thing. Hitomi is just upset you got yourself into trouble for no reason." Sayaka said. "No matter what, I'm here for you."

Madoka had a terrible feeling about what would await her at school.

* * *

A pungent smell assaulted Madoka as she opened her locker. Rotten fruit peels, feces, and some kind of disgusting goo dripped towards the floor.

"It's okay." Sayaka said before she opened her shoe locker, "You can put your shoe inside my... never mind."

Even Sayaka's locker was not spared.

"Could we borrow your shoe locker for a day?" Madoka asked a female student beside her.

The female student smiled embarrassedly, "Sorry, my locker is full." before quickly walking away.

"Sayaka, I'm so sorry!" Madoka said.

"It's fine." Sayaka chuckled. "But we have to put our shoes somewhere if we don't want to walk home barefooted."

Madoka looked around, but none of them seemed willing to help them. They probably wanted to stay out of trouble and not become Manami's new target.

Why was she so foolish? Just because she dreamed about being a hero doesn't mean she actually turned into someone capable of being a hero. Homura's death was the ultimate proof of her ineptness.

Hitomi appeared with an exasperated look, "The both of you can put your shoes in my locker instead. Manami wouldn't dare to do anything to my locker."

"Hitomi…." Sayaka hugged Hitomi with a smile. "I knew you wouldn't abandon us!"

"You two are still my friends even if the both of you are complete idiots." Hitomi said.

A warm feeling swept through Madoka. Hitomi was a wonderful friend… but this wouldn't have happened at all if she chose to ignore the bullying like she always did.

A girl hurled a bag of yellow liquid over Madoka.

The bag hovered in front of her face. Sayaka and Hitomi stood frozen.

Everyone else stood frozen in place like a paused video tape.

Madoka grabbed the bag, and pushed it into the bin. Gravity seemed to have disappeared, but Madoka jumped up and landed on the ground. Why was gravity still affecting her?

Could it be Heavy Acceleration? According to Mami, it was an ability that allows one to slow down time to the point where everyone else was frozen.

The only other person still moving was Shijima Kiriko, a lady with doll-like eyes and porcelain skin appeared.

"Philip was right about you indeed. You are a very special person." Kiriko said.

"I-I heard from Mami that you used to be someone who would never do things like creating Witches to hurt people! Why..."

Madoka felt her words slipping away from her. This was bad! This was her big chance to end everything without anyone getting hurt. What now?!

"Because if the old system involving magical girls and Witches isn't restored, the Universe will run out of energy to support life. Whether you believe me or not, it's up to you. Anyway, I'm here for your Zecter."

"But… but the Kamen Riders I know will find another way out without hurting people, right? I'm sure if we all work together, we'll find a way! A way where no one will be hurt and everyone will be saved."

"There was a way using Cosmic Energy, but we used up the remaining bits of Cosmic Energy to defeat that devil who took control over the Universe. The only way left now is the old system involving magical girls and Witches. I don't wish to kill you, so please surrender your Zecter."

Madoka realized why Kyoko might have gotten so mad all of a sudden last night. It must be painful knowing that the only way left to save the Universe was to watch a friend slip into darkness.

"Sorry, Kiriko. I'll prove that there is a way where no one will be hurt and everyone will be saved. For that purpose, I will continue to fight with the Kabuto Zecter!"

Kiriko stood silent, her cold and emotionless eyes pierced deep into Madoka. She then broke into a melancholic smile.

"Good luck then."

Madoka blinked. Kiriko was nowhere to be seen as time resumed back to normal.

"Are you alright?" Sayaka said.

"I-I'm fine." Madoka said.

It was best not to let Sayaka worry about Kiriko for now.

* * *

Madoka wanted to slap herself for saying such a stupid thing in front of Kiriko.

 _...For that purpose, I will continue to fight with the Kabuto Zecter!_

What happened to persuading Kiriko not to fight and work together instead? How did it become… like that? Just how hopeless was she?

A heavy air of anger and resentment greeted Madoka inside the Gardening and Crafts Club room.

The booth display was shredded to pieces, littered upon the splinters of wood that once formed the booth frame. Tables were overturned, books turned to paper waste. Flowers outside were trampled. The greenhouse with all of its expensive flowers, reduced to shattered glass and bent metal sprinkled with petals on top.

"It was all your fault!" A clubmate said. "Why did you have to go ahead and be the hero!"

"It wasn't even your business in the first place. Why did you have to be so meddlesome." Another clubmate said.

Madoka hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, I'll fix everything."

"Fix?! That isn't the problem at all!"

"Madoka…" Tsuyu said. "Mami will owe a lot of money if we can't fix the greenhouse in time."

The greenhouse was custom built with the latest technology at around 80 million yen by Smart Brain Corporation. The 80 million yen was an investment from many flower companies in exchange for a certain amount of flowers grown in the greenhouse sold to them at heavily discounted prices every month. Any profit gained would go into the club, reducing their dependence on budget allocations. This was Mami's idea, so if anything were to go wrong, she would have to shoulder all liabilities.

Mitsuki stepped out from the crowd and slapped Madoka, "Was sacrificing the club really worth it to save a stranger you barely know?"

"I…"

The pain on Madoka's cheek stung so hard that a tear leaked from the corner of her eyes.

"I only did what I thought was right. To save someone in trouble." Madoka said. She got so sick and tired from running away that she finally decided to do something for once, but she regretted not thinking through her actions properly. If she had done so, the greenhouse wouldn't be destroyed by Manami.

"Good luck coughing out 80 million yen, hero." A few clubmates spat before leaving the room.

"I think the club is finished." A few more clubmates shrugged their shoulders before leaving the room as well.

Madoka held back her tears her clubmates left the room one by one.

"Being a hero isn't a easy job, Madoka." Tsuyu gave Madoka a hug before leaving the room.

Madoka now understood how Kiriko must have felt when she decided to become the 'villain' to save the Universe. To Kiriko, she was doing the right thing, but to everyone else, she was the 'villain' that must be defeated by the heroes.

* * *

Kikuchi Manami sat in a office as she rapped her fingers on the desk. Just how long could a stupid meeting take?

After what seemed like a billion years of waiting, Philip, the CEO of Smart Brain Corporation finally appeared. He had an adorable boyish look that was enough to attract girls by itself without the need of being a rich person dressed in an expensive suit.

"What brings you to my office?" Philip said.

Manami pointed to an overweight girl blindfolded and tied up behind. "I put in a lot of effort for that fatso, so I expect to be compensated fairly."

Magical girls like her rely on creating their personal Witches to harvest despair from others in order to sustain their magical powers. A quality Witch like that overweight girl can generate a good amount of despair in a relatively shorter time.

Philip tossed two black egg-shaped jewels and a cheque for ten million dollars towards Manami. "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Manami tossed her orange hair aside and left the office. While it may be silly to give up such a quality Witch instead of using it for herself, the whole purpose of becoming a magical girl was all about contributing enough data to Philip so that he can 'save' the Universe and grant wishes to girls like her.

* * *

After dinner, Madoka and Sayaka waved goodbye to Hitomi at the park as she left for another path back to her mansion.

Where was Madoka going to find 80 million yen? Hitomi may be from a rich family, but 80 million yen was still a substantial amount and it wasn't right to trouble her any further.

"That's nonsense." Sayaka said. "Manami should be the one paying for the damages, not you or Mami."

"I don't know… the school is still investigating, but you do know that Manami's father is the principal, right?"

"You have a point, but you can't just give up! Let's go back to school and find some evidence!"

An overweight girl dropped from the sky before exploding into a black mass.

Sparkling bones attached with limbs poured out from the pristine white kennels around them as Madoka and Sayaka stood inside a distorted grassy plain.

They both transformed into their Rider forms. This was a Witch's Barrier that fell upon them without any warning.

"Is this how Witches are formed?" Gatack said as she cleared waves after waves of bones with her twin stag beetle blades. "I completely forgot what Mami said last night."

Kabuto followed behind Gatack while firing arrows from her wrist crossbow. "I remember now. When I first found myself inside a Witch's Barrier, a similar thing like this happened!"

"The Witch should be straight ahead!" Gatack said.

A humongous hell hound with curved horns on each side of its head howled ferociously in their direction.

Gatack clanged her blades against each other, "This should be easy since it can't fly."

The plan was simple. Since one Rider Kick was enough to kill most Witches, landing that Rider Kick was the key strategy.

The hound soared into the air like an invisible cursor had clicked on it like an icon and was moving it around on the screen.

Madoka stared at this incredible phenomenon with her jaws agape. "Okay…?"

Gatack hopped onto her hoverboard and pointed a blade at the flying hound, "This is ridiculous!"

The stag beetle rider twisted around and about the fiery streams that the hound spat out as she landed a few slashes on its body before retreating and advancing again to dodge fire and strike the Witch again.

Madoka gasped in horror as Sayaka narrowly dodged a bullet-speed tackle from the hound Witch. She wobbled a little to regain her balance on the hoverboard before continuing her assault.

Kabuto clenched her fists. Was there anything she could do other than fire arrows? Calling Mami or Kyoko was also out of the question when she could die any moment in her human form inside the barrier.

"Madoka!" A white creature said.

"Kyuubey?"

"Since Mami isn't here, I'll be your mentor for today." Kyuubey said. "For this kind of Witches, go for a two pronged approach."

Kabuto nodded after hearing Kyuubey's plan.

A motorcycle with an arrow-like horn attached on the front crashed through a swarming pile of bone familiars, leaving a series of explosion in its wake.

Kabuto leaped onto the motorcycle and zipped through the roof towards the flying hound.

"Sayaka! Now!"

"Got it!"

 **[RIDER TACKLE]**

Electricity enveloped the motorcycle as it made a sharp left turn towards the hound Witch.

Gatack somersaulted out of her hoverboard.

"Rider Kick!"  
 **  
[RIDER KICK]**

The hound Witch dodged Kabuto's Rider Tackle, but a dark-blue electric spiral pierced through the Witch from the side. It exploded in flames and the barrier fell apart.

Both the Kabuto and Gatack Zecter flew away, reverting Madoka and Sayaka back to their human form.

This time, it was Madoka lying on the ground with cuts and bruises.

"We did it, Madoka." Sayaka smiled.

"Good job!" Kyuubey said.

Madoka smiled as well. It had been a horrible day, but at least they managed to successfully kill a Witch with some help from Kyuubey.


End file.
